trellised

The grapevine has a primary trunk that is trained up a treated grapestake, then an “arm” (cordon) from the trunk is laterally trained along a wire system extending a few feet from each side of the trunk. The two arms develop shoots that are eventually trained up to a higher wire system where the fruit will form and “hang” until they ripen and are harvested in the fall. After harvest and once the vines go dormant in the winter, the shoots are pruned back to form “spurs” on the arms in preparation for new growth in the spring.